Voynov kicked her five to six times on the ground, Varlamova told police, while she screamed for him to stop. When she tried to get up, he pushed her into the corner of a flat-screen television mounted on the wall. That opened a 1.2-inch laceration above Varlamova’s left eye that required eight stitches to close.

At least one OAR teammate thinks Voynov deserves the honor of an Olympic appearance.

“I know that he’s a good player and obviously he deserves to be here,” Mikhail Grigorenko said, per NBC Tampa affiliate WFLA. “He’s one of our leaders on defense, so I’m not surprised he’s here. The around-hockey stuff, there’s people that decide that.”

Grigorenko isn’t alone in his defense of Voynov. The Russian hockey program tweeted a defense of Voynov on Monday, saying he is in “a happy marriage” and asking that the media “immediately stop speculating on this matter.”

Hereby the Russian Ice Hockey Federation would like to make a statement that Mr. Voynov is eligible to participate in all international competitions. Mr. Voynov and his wife are living together in a happy marriage.

“He left a huge void in the Los Angeles Kings’ defense, otherwise [they] may have gone on to win more than the championships they did already,” Milbury said. “This guy was a special player, and an unfortunate incident left the Los Angeles Kings without a great defenseman.”

As the OAR enter tournament play, Voynov has tallied two assists and more ice time than any player on the team. With a roster composed of veterans of the KHL, the top professional league allowing its players to play in PyeongChang, the Russians figure to be the tournament favorite going forward.

If the Russians win gold, a major reason will be the 28-year-old Voynov, currently playing in his prime. The NHL didn’t reject him because he wasn’t good enough.